


Avengers Disassembled

by ErinBurr_sir



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Relationships, F/F, F/M, M/M, Pietro Maximoff Lives, Slow Build, alternate version of civil war, canon divergence - agents of shield season three
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-06-06 19:41:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6767263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErinBurr_sir/pseuds/ErinBurr_sir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The aftermath of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fight with the Inhumans has global ramifications, ones that require the Avengers' help. These two very different groups must learn to work together to deal with the situation at hand, something that is easier said than done. However, a startling tragedy shatters their fragile coexistence, forcing them all to choose a side in a civil war that is anything but civil.<br/>(Aka what would happen if Marvel made full use of the connection between its movies and shows)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An instant can change your life forever.

She was drowning.  
She remembered swallowing the pill, washing it down with water like she always did.  
She remembered the sharp pull in her stomach, like her insides were on fire; her throat constricting … No air.  
She remembered the ground opening beneath her feet, hard bedrock shooting upward, growing and growing in size until it became a cocoon that encircled and trapped her within.  
Nails scratching at stone, useless.  
Voice screaming, screaming.  
Tears falling.  
Throat raw.  
Water rising from somewhere unknown, higher and higher.  
Eyes stinging, blurring.  
Breath held for seconds, minutes. Face blue, fingers numb.  
Screaming again, louder and louder and louder still.  
Throat filling with water, burning like fire.  
Cold, so cold.

A crack like the world was ending, a light so bright it was an inferno.  
Earth shattering, boulders crumbling.  
Falling to the ground, nails scratching frantically at linoleum.  
Coughing and gasping up water, crying, crying, crying.  
Sunlight filtering in through a window, an entire world moving on while hers was ending.  
A white wall, a white ceiling, everything encased in emptiness and despair.  
Pain all over, a heaviness like the weight of the world had been placed upon her. A strange feeling within, as her DNA rewrote itself, molecules forming and reforming into something inhuman.  
Blackness at the edges of her vision, growing, growing...  
Blind, she was blind, couldn't see anything, _feel_ anything, but that was okay because she was fading, fading, fading....

Gone.

 

***

 

He was drowning.  
He remembered running...  
Ground hard beneath his feet.  
Wind whistling through his hair.  
Time slowing, seconds like eons, falling off the clock like molasses.  
Bullets flying through the air....  
Fear in a young boy's eyes...  
Desperation, a sickness he could feel in his bones; because there was no way in _hell_ he was letting another family be broken apart.  
Lead hitting flesh, shattering like the ground had broken open.  
Fire all over, a strange feeling at first; pain, he believed it was called.  
Blood blooming all over his body, like he was covered in a bed of roses.  
Falling, seconds like eons.  
Legs and arms flailing, numb and useless, wanting to run away, to find her and go back to before the world turned to shit.

Her?  
Strange, he couldn't remember her name, just a smile and the color red.  
Hitting the ground, feeling like all his bones had splintered.  
Blood spreading everywhere, lungs flooding with it.  
The old man looking at him, fear in his eyes too.  
A smirk, more painful now than all those he had cracked while living on the streets combined, trying to stay positive for her.  
"You didn't see that coming?"  
Heart beating like a bird's wings, faster and faster, and then fleeting, fleeting. Flying, fading.  
Memories washing over him like a warm bath:  
A smile and the color red,  
A tower as tall as the sky,  
A dinner table set for four,  
The promise of change and a new tomorrow and beginning anew.  
And a name:  
_Wanda._

He noticed the sky then, how perfectly blue it was.  
He couldn't breath, he realized, but maybe that was because of the altitude.  
He couldn't feel, he noted, as his heart began to fail.  
He couldn't see, he discovered, as his sight began to blacken.  
But he tossed all that aside, focused on what he could see of the sky, how perfectly blue it was, letting it fill his vision, let it envelop him and become his everything.  
And then he was fading, fading, fading...

Gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I promise the whole fic won't be in this style, this is just an introductory prologue.


	2. Avengers Assemble!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve gets word from Tony of unusual activity going on in a certain African kingdom.

“Avengers assemble!”

Captain America's voice rang clear throughout the compound, echoing down the long, empty hallways and outside to the training grounds, finally dissipating in the mid-summer heat. For a moment, time froze. Then, the facility interrupted into an explosion of sound and activity as hundreds of people simultaneously dropped what they were doing and hurried to their stations.

Steve, meanwhile, pushed himself back from his computer desk with a sigh and crossed the room to don his uniform. Within minutes he was done (a side effect from his days in the war, when the time it took for you to put on your socks could sometimes be the difference between life or death). With little more than a thought, he grabbed his shield from its customary spot beside his bed and exited the room.

He marched down the long white hallways toward the loading bay, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents jogging past every so often. One stopped beside him.

“Captain,” she said tersely, handing him a tablet. He nodded his thanks and took it from her. On it were the details of their mission. _Thank you Tony,_ he thought as he swiped through the pages of information. It was a comprehensive list of targets, mug shots of smugglers and terrorists and other scum of the earth leering back at him; along with shipping reports, reports from both local and international law enforcement agencies, and a comprehensive map of their targeted location.

A few seconds later, Natasha silently fell into step beside him. Soon, Sam joined them, rubbing sleep from his eyes, wing pack already on his back.

“What have we got?” Nat asked tersely.

“Just finished talking with Stark,” Steve responded. “He's been picking up chatter lately of a terrorist group that's come into possession of some dangerous material.”

“Such as...?” Sam asked.

“Vibranium.” Steve answered curtly, handing Nat the tablet to look over, Sam reading over her shoulder.

“The stuff your shield's made out of?”

“And the stuff Ultron was made of.” Nat answered grimly. The look on her face suggested she was familiar with some of the faces on the tablet.

“Which is why we're going in now. Stark's sources say there'll be a drop-off tonight, which we're going to intercept.”

They discussed the mission more as they strode into the facility's loading bay. The hub bustled with activity, agents running here and there, techs operating the controls, and mechanics making last minute adjustments to the Quinjet, which shone brightly in its place of honor in the center of the hub, the whole world revolving around it. Below the jet's left wing, the other Avengers hung around, waiting for more information. Rhodey was running a last-minute check on his suit, guns folding out of it with the signature mechanical whir that came with Stark’s suits. Seemingly displeased with the results, he entered a few commands into a small screen inserted in the left arm, hidden by a panel. He then tested the weapons once more (scaring a few of the less battle-oriented agents) before returning the armor to its original form.

Wanda was fiddling with the many rings that adorned her fingers, looking at the chaos around her with both wonder and fear, flinching when a S.H.I.E.L.D agent bumped into her. Steve could see wisps of red energy beginning to form around her fingertips, but a reassuring smile from Rhodey caused them to dissipate. She was by the far the least experienced of the team by far, with only the few months of training she had received at the facility and whatever training she had done under HYDRA to aid her in battle, though she always came through when she was needed; Steve knew how effective adrenaline could be in the heat of battle, yet still worried that eventually it would not be enough. He also knew how unpredictable Wanda's powers could be, and that one day that could fail her too. But after what happened in Sokovia, she was determined to prove herself to the team; she was an Avenger, just like her brother, and no amount of cajoling would dissuade her.

Then there was the Vision. Steve still had no idea what to think of him. He had certainly proven himself a capable fighter and a worthy ally (he was Mjolnir-certified, after all), but off the battlefield he was an enigma. To call him a friend – or even an acquaintance – would be an extreme. At the compound, he was either using his boundless knowledge to help scientists down in the labs (though they were more interested in studying him, it seemed) or aimlessly wandering the premises, like a ghost without a purpose.

Steve, Nat, and Sam stopped in front of the others and all eyes turned expectantly towards their captain. Nat --thank God for her, Steve would be lost without her -- stepped forward and relayed their mission.

“It's just a simple extraction,” she finished. “We want to keep the fighting to a minimum, avoid civilian casualties. If possible, capture instead of kill; there are gonna be a lot of men there who need to answer for their crimes.”

They all nodded in understanding.

“It'll be a long flight,” Steve added, directed towards Rhodey. Despite the War Machine armor’s many capabilities, an overseas flight was incredibly taxing, on both the suit and Rhodey; there was no need to waste energy before they had even begun fighting. The colonel nodded and boarded the Quinjet with the others. Steve followed, the cargo bay door closing behind him once they were all aboard the carrier.

“Everybody strap in,” Natasha replied from the pilot's seat. “It's gonna be a long ride.” She had a headset on and was busy flipping a multitude of switches. 

Outside, the loading was busier than ever. Above, the ceiling parted to reveal the bright blue sky. Steve saw papers go flying and hair whip around agents’ faces as warm wind flooded into the bunker. He took the seat beside Nat as the Quinjet began to ascend into the sky.

“Where exactly are we headed, anyway?” Rhodey asked once they were safely in the air. 

Nat moved her arm to show a small screen. On it were a longitude and latitude next to a map of Africa, a red dot glowing in the central part of the continent.

“Wakanda.”


	3. A New Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we catch up with everyone's favorite neighborhood S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple notes:  
> As stated in the tags, this fic's plot will diverge from the AOS season 2 finale, making season three onwards non-canon in this world.  
> In addition, Skye is still known as Skye (at least for now anyways), and Jemma wasn't swallowed up by the Monolith (which is good cuz her and Fitz need to be happy together).

The bunker was unusually quiet, though it had been for months now. Skye strolled through the empty halls, hand drifting along the metal walls, allowing her mind to wander, something she had found caused more trouble than good lately. She needed company, voices to fill these empty halls but everyone was preoccupied.

Fitzsimmons were in the lab with Mack now, still working on the Kree artifact. In the three months since the team had acquired it, they were no closer to discovering its powers, origins, or purpose than they were to achieving world peace, much to Jemma and Mack's general annoyance. Skye had been ordered to be kept away from it at all times, but she had still stolen glances at the strange metallic _thing_ from time to time.

It remained virtually the same as it had been since they had recovered it, except for a few rare occasions when it would temporarily morph into strange shapes - a cube, a square... even something that looked suspiciously like a phallic symbol (though Skye wasn't about to mention that to Jemma, especially when she had that mad-scientist look in her eye).

May was down in the training room, beating the crap out of some poor punching bag. She had just returned from her extended non-honeymoon with her ex-husband/current boyfriend two weeks ago (honestly, Skye had no idea what those two were; she still had trouble believing Fitz when he had told her May had _giggled_ ), and despite everybody’s pressing, constant stream of questions as to her whereabouts, she was keeping mum (Skye and Mack had a running bet that she had been secretly undercover the whole time, but if Coulson or May asked, that was nothing more than gossip). 

Bobbi and Lance were who-knows-where doing who-knows-what; Skye really had no idea. They had left as soon as Bobbi had recovered from her shooting, with no inclination as to where they were headed ("Tahiti", Hunter had joked). Skye was convinced they were on some sort of reconnaissance mission for Coulson, but if that were true, Coulson wasn't letting on.

Skye tugged at her gauntlets as she came upon a large hole in the wall that was still unrepaired, a remnant from her father's stampede through the facility, a reminder of just how much things had changed in just a few short months.

At some point, Skye's brain went on autopilot and she let her feet take control. She had done a lot of wandering lately -- to the kitchen, the lab, the training room, wherever she subconsciously wanted to go, although she never really felt like she had reached her destination. Joining S.H.I.E.L.D. had arguably been the best decision of her life, but she missed the freedom of her old life.... the secrecy, the anonymity. Sometimes she missed the good ol' days, her in her rusted up van, hacking companies and being a badass, even without her powers. Now, she couldn't even recall how long it'd been since she'd seen real sunlight, she'd been down here so long.

Skye looked up and found herself outside Coulson's office. On impulse more than courtesy, she knocked, heard the familiar and terse "Come in" and turned the metal knob.

Coulson was at his desk, eyes searching the holographic screen that glowed blue against the opposite wall, hands flying over the keyboard.

Or hand, as it were, Skye reminded herself quickly.

That was still something they all had to get used to, Coulson especially. He had healed months ago, but still insisted on wearing his cast, as if taking it off would mean facing the truth. Skye understood completely; she knew denial. And she also knew that telling somebody they were in denial only served to drive them further into it. Coulson would come to grips with his new reality eventually, and when he did, they would all be there for him.

Coulson looked up then, eyes softening when he saw who it was. “Skye. I’m glad you’re here,” he answered, swiping his hand to clear away some top-secret information on the screen. “I was just about to call everybody together. I just received a very interesting call from your friend Lincoln.”

“Lincoln?” Skye asked. “Lincoln _Campbell?_ Why is he calling you now, after all this time?” She could scarcely recall the last time she had seen or heard from him. Everything after their showdown with Jiaying and the Inhumans was a blur, a rush of tears and sighs of relief and picking up the broken remains of their team. Lincoln had been there for it all, but once the dust had settled he had left for Chicago, mouth set in a hard line and eyes never looking back. Coulson had given them a number to call if he changed his mind, though the way Lincoln had looked at the members of S.H.I.E.L.D (Skye excluded) the last time they were together told them that number had been thrown away at the earliest convenience. It seemed as if he was out of their lives for good.

“He said he just got a call from an old acquaintance from Afterlife,” Coulson replied.

“Another Inhuman?”

“Yes, and apparently a very new one; Lincoln says she just underwent Terrigenesis.”

Skye furrowed her brow. “But we destroyed all the crystals, didn’t we? _And_ Afterlife was abandoned. How could she have undergone Terrigenesis?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out,” Coulson stood up and smoothed out the front of his suit with his hand. “Gather the team, we’re leaving in an hour.” 

He stepped around her and proceeded down the hallway, shiny black loafers click-clacking on the hard floors and echoing down the corridors. Skye shook her head, still trying to digest all this new information, before jogging to catch up to Coulson, who was walking with the hurried yet calm stride that only came after years of responding to a multitude of crises.

“So we’re going to Chicago? Like _outside?_ On a _mission?”_ Skye asked him, trying unsuccessfully to mask the excitement in her voice. Her hands twitched and her body tingled with the untapped power within her, the limitless energy just waiting to be released. 

It had been _weeks_ since she had used her powers; field missions had been few and far between lately (at least for her; Coulson seemed determined to keep her within Playground’s walls), and testing her powers underground was ill-advised, to say the least. It wasn’t even the idea of fighting or using her powers that excited her -- just to go outside, breath in fresh air and feel the sunshine on her face, to venture into an actual city, into the normalcy and commonness that other people still had.

Coulson suppressed a smile at the small bounce in her steps as he turned a corner, headed to the lab to alert Mack and Fitzsimmons. “Yes, it’s a mission, but for now, it’s just simple reconnaissance. We don’t know what we’re dealing with here, we wanna get all the facts.”

“Fine by me. I’ll go get May,” she offered, footsteps slowing as she waited. At his nod of assent, she turned on her heel and began jogging down the hall toward the training room, finally letting a smile spread across her face. She had no clue what this mission would entail, but it was a change, a break from the monotony, from the forced smiles and eggshells they walked on to cover up how messed up their world had become. No, she had no idea what would happen -- the feeling in her stomach was more fear than excitement -- but that didn’t stop her smile from enduring for the entirety of her walk to find May.  
Today was a new day, and she had absolutely no idea what that meant.


End file.
